The Bata Shoe Company is named after the family
which founded it. Originally the Bata family lived
in Czechoslovakia, where they began
manufacturing shoes as far back as 1620. Thomas
Bata Senior, father of the present proprietor,
established a shoe factory for the first time in 1925.
His career was cut short though when his private
plane lost its bearings in heavy fog and crashed,
burning him to death on the spot. On his father’s
death, Thomas Bata Junior became president of Bata
Ltd.
The Bata Company, the largest shoe manufacturer
in the world, is now doing business in 114 different
countries, having sold 315 million pairs of shoes
throughout the world in 1982. Its greatest volume of
business is in Canada, with India ranking second. It
has 90 thousand direct employees, not to mention
thousands of indirect employees.
Mr. Thomas Bata Junior visited India for the fortieth
time in 1983. On this occasion, a correspondent
asked him what he thought was the most important
factor in his success. Mr. Bata replied,
“In manufacturing shoes which range from cheap to
costly, we take special care to fulfill the actual needs
of our consumers. We do, in fact, look after our
customers better than anyone else.”
What we learn from the Bata Shoe Company’s
success is that if you want to take, you should try to
give. It is only in giving to others that we can have
our share too.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
